Sacred Breeze Ministries - Eternal Damnation: An Inclusive Perspective
Engaging Mindfulness, Spirituality, and Faith for Liberation and Creative Awakening
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The following sermon was shared on 9/28/25 at Nacoochee Presbyterian Church in Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia. To view the sermon directly, please scroll to timestamp 34:04.
Gospel Reading: Luke 16:19-31
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.[g] The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was being tormented, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.[h] 24 He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus in like manner evil things, but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 27 He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ 30 He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
There was a time in my life when I found myself, in my ministry, being challenged by fire and brimstone ministers and lay persons on a regular basis. They did so in an attempt to challenge my love centered interpretation of the Gospels, which I shared at every opportunity. This actually happened several years in a row, during the season of Lent, after I graduated from Seminary. It was not lost on me that Lent was the season when Christ traditionally endured a trial of his own, at the hands of Satan.
Then one year I attended a Winter Solstice celebration at a UCC in Atlanta, and found myself sitting in front of an open fire next to a lovely trans person. As we shared our stories, I mentioned my anticipation of another round of challenges with the upcoming Lent season. She turned to me, and wisely suggested “so, you’re into that whole hurt me hurt me thing.” Surprised, I responded, “well, I guess I have been.”
Later, when I became a licensed therapist, I found myself counseling people who had been traumatized as children by “fire and brimstone” theology. I suspect the trauma they experienced had been passed down for generations. This reinforced my aversion to religion being used in a threatening or coercive manner.
Imagine my surprise when, after being asked by our beloved Pastor John to fill in today, I found that the lectionary suggested using some of the very scripture used to justify that old fire and brimstone theology all those years ago?
So here we are, together, with poor, sick, disabled, covered in sores Lazarus enjoying an eternity of joy with Abraham, and the rich person being tormented for eternity.
Before we go directly into the whole fire and brimstone thing, let’s take a look at some of the things Jesus talked about before getting to this parable. Last year, in 2024, the lectionary took us through the life and travels of Jesus in the book of Mark leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection. This year, 2025, the lectionary leads us through some of the teachings that Jesus shared, again leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection.
As I read through these teachings from Jesus, and knowing the movie Nick has planned for sharing after the service, I couldn’t help but think of the Oompa Loompa songs from the original Willie Wonka movie with Gene Wilder. So bear with me as we try to find a pattern in the teachings leading up to today’s scripture.
After instructing the Disciples and sending them off to help with his mission of bringing healing and reconciliation, in Luke 10 Jesus was asked what was necessary to inherit eternal life. The answer, taken from Old Testament Levitical law, was to love God and to love one’s neighbor. When asked who is one’s neighbor, Jesus shared a story about a person being robbed and beaten and left in a ditch to die. The person was found by a traveling stranger and cared for. The lesson was that being a good neighbor means caring for others, even strangers, in need. Oompa Loompa Loompady Doo, be a good neighbor is the lesson for you!
In Luke 11 Jesus shared the Lord’s prayer, saying that God knows what we need better than we ourselves know, so have some faith and open ourselves to God’s Grace in prayer and in life. Oompa Loompa, Loompady dee, having some faith will set you free!
In Luke 12 Jesus shared the parable of the rich man building a second barn so he could hoard the bountiful harvest the Lord had provided. The lesson there was a reminder that we are mortal, and hoarding will not bring security nor lengthen our days. I’ll spare you the Ooompa Loompas at for the next few passages.
In Luke 13 Jesus was caught healing a woman on the Sabbath! There was some pearl clutching going on that day! The lesson there was, don’t let the law stop you from doing what is right, bringing healing and reconciliation where you can!
In Luke 14, after again healing on the Sabbath, Jesus taught the lesson of not restricting one’s social life to hobnobbing with rich people, seeking the best seats at banquets and ignoring poor and needy folks. The lesson there was one of both humility and service.
In Luke 15, once again Jesus was caught in a social faux pas or embarrassment, having a meal with tax collectors and sinners. Here was a lesson to seek out people who need help, and who need hope, and to offer fellowship and support without regard for social norms.
Then in Luke 16, there was a manager who was not being honest when collecting rent from the Master’s tenants. To get out of trouble, he offered the tenants discounts and was able to collect enough to put him back into good graces with the Master. The lesson there was, well, Oompa, Loompa, Loompady Doo, Honesty and Mercy is better for you!
Which brings us to today’s scripture.
So, lets summarize the lessons that lead to today: Be a good neighbor. Have some faith. Don’t hoard wealth, share. Do the right thing, bring healing and hope to people, even and especially when it goes against societal norms. Be humble. Be honest. Have Mercy. And have some Grace.
This sounds a lot to me like an illustrated tour of the Golden Rule Jesus taught the Disciples in Luke 6, Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Who among us doesn’t want neighbors who will help out if we’ve fallen on hard times. Neighbors who have some humility, are honest, and have a capacity for Mercy and Grace when we need friendship and support.
This reinforced my aversion to religion being used in a threatening or coercive manner. Alot of theology revolves around that theme. Beloved children of a loving God. Children of Abraham, from today’s scripture. To borrow a phrase from CS Lewis, Sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, if anyone is familiar with the Chronicles of Narnia.
Not a lot is said about being adults of God. Paul hinted at it when he said in 1 Cor 13:11 “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.”
As adults, we are often made painfully aware that life has consequences. The laws of man bring consequences for major crimes like theft and bringing harm to others. Neglecting one’s own health and well-being carries its own physical consequences.
But what of consequences beyond civil law and the need for self-care?
The scripture for today speaks to consequences on a personal level. The scripture suggests that callous neglect of the needs of others surely has consequences on a personal level.
But the consequences go beyond the personal. Jesus’s ministry is built on the foundation of Judaic history and prophesy. And Judaic prophesy was also about holding those with power and wealth to account. The consequence of power and wealth neglecting the needs of the poor, and the neighbor, and the stranger, were quite stark, nothing less than the destruction of a nation. That meant being conquered and carried off into slavery, and worse.
Judaic history and prophesy is built on another foundation, the legacy of Noah. Remember the story of Noah’s ark? Noah’s legacy demonstrated consequences beyond the destruction of a nation, Noah’s legacy demonstrated the near end of the world and all life in a catastrophic flood. Of course, God promised Noah to never bring another flood to destroy humanity. But there was no promise that humanity would not bring about our own destruction.
A few weeks ago some folks gathered in the park across the street to remember the legacy of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan on August 6th 1945. That was a uranium fission bomb, the hydrogen bombs of today are thousands of times stronger, harnessing the same engines that power the sun and the stars.
The CERN particle accelerator in Switzerland is revealing the building blocks of matter, and even the nature of space and time. Using those discoveries, they say quantum computers will be exponentially more powerful than computers we have today. Imagine artificial intelligence exponentially more powerful than what we have today.
The James Webb telescope in space is seeing farther back into the origins of the universe than ever before, over 13 billion years, almost to the very beginning of the Universe. And genetic scientists are unraveling the secrets of life itself. Right now they are creating artificial DNA sequences and injecting them into living cells to engineer almost completely artificial life forms.
Adults of God indeed. When children grow up, they become like their parents. Sobering thought, isn’t it?
But the power to create a universe and bring forth life in abundance is not the end of the story, is it? Judaic, Christian, and even Islamic scripture all describe a God who is merciful, loving, and compassionate as well as powerful. Humanity, as beloved children of a loving God, need to understand more than raw power to grow up and be like our parent. We ourselves need to be merciful, loving, and compassionate. And the consequences of not learning to be merciful, loving, and compassionate are daunting.
No one needs metaphysical fire and brimstone to understand the consequences otherwise. The threats of physical fire and brimstone are sufficient.
There are those who say that the quest for knowledge of the origins of the universe and life need to be stopped. We are not ready for this kind of power. And they have a point. It seems the lesson of eating from the tree of knowledge is still relevant today.
But Jesus never warned against the dangers of acquiring knowledge, in fact Jesus encouraged those who would listen to become “as God,” loving neighbors, strangers, and enemies alike. Jesus also warned against the dangers of power and greed, and neglect of the sick and needy, including neighbor and stranger.
We are indeed beloved children of an awesome God. We are also adults of God. And with adulthood comes rights and responsibilities. And neglect of those rights and responsibilities can have dire consequences.
Jesus lays out our responsibilities, as did the Judaic prophets before him. Be a good neighbor. Have some faith. Don’t hoard wealth, share. Do the right thing, bring healing and hope to people, even and especially when it goes against societal norms. Be humble. Be honest. Have Mercy. Have some Grace. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you, including neighbors, strangers, and people we may perceive as enemies.
Now let’s wind the whole story backwards. Yes there are consequences for not heeding Jesus’s advice for being merciful and compassionate. Consequences for the world, as illustrated in the story of Noah and the ark. Consequences for any nation, including our nation, today, as warned by the prophets of old. But it all starts with the individual, as Jesus and today’s scripture describes. Every individual has a responsibility to care for others, to have compassion, to love neighbors and enemies alike, and to advocate for the most vulnerable among us.
The good news is, we are not alone. Even as adults, we are not alone. Scripture tells us that God is with us, and we have each other. Together, we lift up what is good right, and true. Together we remember the words of Jesus, and the lessons of the prophets. Together we lift and encourage each other in faith and Grace. And we believe. And we share our love, our compassion, and the fruits of our labors with others in need, and with the world. And we put one foot in front of the other. At times, the darkness of the threats that face us seem daunting, but one candle takes away a lot of darkness, just as one smile can brighten a room.
As beloved adults of an awesome God, with all the rights and responsibilities thereof, we commit ourselves to being instruments of God’s peace: bringing love where there is hatred; pardon where there is injury; faith where there is doubt; hope where there is despair; light to the darkness, joy to sadness, and offering consolation, understanding, and love to all we encounter. Amen.